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GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Playing the outfield is nothing compared to playing shortstop left-handed. Jesse Winker would know.

Improving defensively was an offseason mission for the Cincinnati Reds prospect, and that mission sent him and other pro ballplayers to Orlando to work with Reds great Barry Larkin at a Coach Tom Shaw camp. Along with stars like Carlos Gonzalez, Francisco Lindor and Dee Gordon, Winker worked on his craft from 9 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon.

Every day, Winker lined up at shortstop while Larkin hit him grounders. He still attacked them like an outfielder, but the ball came in hotter and bounced unpredictably on the dirt.

“He wouldn’t let me take one off. If I messed up, I’d have to do pushups,” Winker said. “If I didn’t do it right with the footwork, everyone was doing pushups.”

Winker has heard critiques about his defense at every step of his development. He’s an advanced hitter, evaluators say, but doesn’t have much power and nor does he add much impact on the bases or in the field.

The jury remains out on if Winker will hit home runs – he had three last year, although he dealt with a wrist injury – but the defensive criticism has bothered him. But it’s also spurred him to get better.

“I’ve always believed in myself as a defender,” Winker said. “I’ve worked really hard at it. Because as a player, when something’s said about you that you don’t agree with, you want to prove to everyone that hey, I can do this as well.”

There don’t seem to be questions about whether Winker can survive in left. He’s worked on taking better routes to balls, and Great American Ball Park offers a pretty forgiving environment in which to be a left fielder.

But the Reds have a left fielder they like already, with Adam Duvall coming off a year as an All-Star and Gold Glove finalist. If that position is taken, could Winker get the job done in right? Depends on who you ask.

Winker’s played 112 games in right, most of that total coming in the last two seasons. He played there exclusively down the stretch last year, as Triple-A Louisville manager Delino DeShields thought Winker was better going to his glove side on balls in the gap.

But right field requires a stronger arm capable of making throws from foul territory to third base.

“I certainly think he has enough arm to play left field,” manager Bryan Price said. “The jury’s out maybe on right field from an arm-strength perspective.”

Winker had a chance to present the case for his arm Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels. With Ben Revere on second in the top of the second inning, Angels shortstop Cliff Pennington shot a single to Winker in left.

As Revere rounded third, Winker delivered a strike to Rob Brantly set up just in front of the plate. It would have been an out, but Revere kicked the ball out of Brantly’s glove as he slid. For Winker, it was a small, validating moment.

“I feel like I’ve always had a strong arm,” he said. “I’ve always been really accurate.”

Winker hasn’t played any right this spring, alternating between left field and designated hitter. He’ll see more time there once cuts are made sometime next week.

That will present Winker with another chance to prove his doubters wrong. But the reality is until he performs well in the majors, the questions about his defense probably won’t go away.

“I don’t think the organization feels that he’s a poor outfielder,” Price said. “I think it’s an area that needed and will continue to need to be addressed, but you could say the same thing about virtually everybody on the team.”